


he was just right there

by sleeponrooftops



Series: raising webhead: a parenting guide, attempted by the science boyfriends [18]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-08
Updated: 2013-06-08
Packaged: 2017-12-14 08:17:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/834700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeponrooftops/pseuds/sleeponrooftops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The superfamily spends the day out, and it’s quite the day—Peter gets a haircut, looks at snakes and fish, and gets lost.</p>
            </blockquote>





	he was just right there

_One month later._

_March, 2014_

 Bruce holds up two shirts, Peter picks the one on the left, and then Tony holds up two pairs of shoes, and he picks the one on the left again.  “No,” Tony says even as Peter opens his mouth, and Peter pouts, trying to cross his arms until Bruce holds out his jeans, and he puts his little hands on Bruce’s shoulders, stepping inside.

 

“But—”

 

“No,” Bruce says this time, and Peter sighs dramatically.

 

“Stop being a butthead,” Tony says, handing over a grey t-shirt to go under his blue and green plaid.

 

“But Cooper likes going on adventures!”

 

“No,” they both say at the same time, so Peter starts whining and stops when they both glare at him at the same time, eyes going wide.

 

Bruce finishes with his jeans, pulls the t-shirt over Peter’s head and leaves him to get his arms through, and then sets about unbuttoning the shirt.  When Peter’s done, he holds out his arms on either side, and Bruce pulls the plaid on, buttoning it up his front.  Peter flops onto his bum when that’s done, and Bruce takes a pair of socks from Tony, tugging them on before reaching for his Converse.  Tony gets up to make Peter’s bed, checks on Cooper, and sighs, turning.  “Did you feed Cooper?”

  
“I forgotted!” Peter exclaims, trying to get up, but Bruce tugs him back down to tie his shoes.

 

“I got it,” Tony says, looking around for Cooper’s food.

 

Eventually, they’re finally ready to go out, Peter dressed, fed, and holding Ollie, slowly eating his toast while Tony and Bruce get ready, and then Bruce is taking Peter, Tony’s grabbing their things, and they’re heading downstairs into the garage where they get Peter into his jacket, buckled in, and then they’re off for a day of errands.

 

They go to the barber first, and Peter whimpers in the back of the car, clutching Ollie to him as Tony pulls in.  “You’ll be fine,” Bruce tries to calm him as he’s undoing his car seat.

 

“But what if they miss and cut off my head on accident?” Peter mumbles, lower lip wobbling dangerously.

 

“They’re not going to cut off your head,” Bruce says, pushing away the straps and lifting Peter out of his seat, “I need you to be brave, okay?”

 

“But daddy,” he whispers, squeezing Ollie tightly.

 

“Ollie needs you to be brave, too, and so doesn’t dad.”

 

“That’s three people,” he says, looking at Tony and then back at Bruce, “Are you sure you need me to?”

 

“Very sure.”

 

“Okay, I guess,” he says, snuggling into Bruce and peeking out from underneath his chin.  Bruce just smiles sadly and rubs his back, following Tony into the little place.  Peter keeps his eyes shut the entire time and holds Ollie with both hands, but he doesn’t cry once, and, when he opens his eyes at the end, he lets out a little breath.

 

“Look at you,” Bruce says as he comes over, a lollipop in his mouth.  He scoops him up, ruffling his newly cut hair, which still looks wild, but it’s a little neater and not curling around his ears anymore.  Tony pays, Peter waves to his barber, and then they’re off to the pet store to pick up new food for Cooper and look at snakes.  Peter presses his face to the glass on a red tail boa, and Tony kneels next to him, looking in at the snake.

 

“I think I’m noticing a pattern,” he says, glancing up at Bruce, “Peter, what’s your favorite color?”

 

“Red!” he exclaims, beaming at Tony, “Can we get this snake?”

 

“We’ll see.  We have more errands to run, though, so not right now.”

 

“Okay,” Peter sighs, stepping back from the glass, waving to the boa, and then holding up his hand for Tony to take.

 

They manage to get halfway through the store before Peter spots the fish, and he squirms out of Tony’s hand, running over.  “Hey, no running in the store,” Bruce says, and Peter slows to a walk.  They have to spend a half hour looking at all the different fish after that, and Peter picks out four different fish that he wants.  “What do you think?” Bruce says when they’re back on the road, and he glances up at the rearview mirror, but Peter’s too preoccupied singing along with Black Sabbath to notice.

 

“About what?” Tony asks, looking over at Bruce.

 

“A small aquarium of fish.”

 

“We’re going to have to seriously consider fixing up a room for all of this, if we actually plan on getting him more pets, but I think it’s a great idea.”

 

“Well, there’s that empty storage room next to his bedroom that we don’t use.”

 

“Yeah, but I’d want to connect it to his room somehow.”

 

“What about where his desk is?  There’s that space in front of the bathroom.”

 

“Yeah, we could knock that down, hollow it out into a hallway that leads into the storage room, move his desk somewhere else.  His room is big enough, it’d be fine.  I mean—yeah, sounds like a good idea, if you think so.”

 

“I think it would be good for him, and he’d definitely love it.”

 

“I’ll look into it when we get home.  Where next?”

 

“Have you really been driving without knowing where you’re going?” Bruce asks, smiling fondly, and Tony shrugs.

 

“Listen, I hardly ever go out with you guys, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

 

“Might as well get lunch.  Peter, what are you hungry for?”

 

He hums to himself, thinking, before he exclaims, “Friendly’s!  Auntie Sue took me and Johnny there once, and I had chicken fingers, and they were _really_ good.”

  
“Oh boy,” Tony says, and Bruce laughs, “This should be interesting.”

 

It’s not too much of a disaster, though their waiter is a little star struck when he comes to take their order.  Peter needs a booster seat, which Tony teases him about, calling him little so Peter makes faces at him.  It’s mostly a quiet affair, though, with a table out of the way, and Peter cheers excitedly when he gets his chicken fingers.  After that, they do the non-food shopping, getting the essentials before Bruce directs them over to the clothes.  “He’s really growing fast,” Bruce says, nodding toward where Peter is skipping ahead of them, Ollie swinging from one hand.

 

“Can you imagine him when he’s a _teenager_?” Tony says the word like it leaves a bad taste in his mouth, and Bruce laughs at him.

 

“It’s weird still sometimes, knowing we’re _raising_ another life form.”

 

“Hey, look who you’re talking to, I can’t even believe you managed to convince me,” Tony trails off, frowning, and Bruce follows his gaze, straightening when he notices it, too.

 

“Where’s Peter?” Bruce says, looking over at Tony.

 

“He was just right there,” Tony says, feeling panic rising in his throat, and he takes a slow breath, walking away from Bruce and into the clothes section.  He looks around, trying to remain calm, and he can hear Bruce checking the nearby sections.

 

Tony calls Peter’s name softly, searching quietly and slowly at first until desperation starts to creep in, and he’s feeling short of breath.  He’s spent the entirety of his life alone, without a father who cared, and then Bruce came into his life, and everything slotted into place, and he never thought he could possibly make it better until they opened their home to Peter, and it’s like a hole inside of him was filled.  He needs to be near Bruce, he realizes, knows he’s going to start panicking if he’s alone looking for Peter much longer, and just as he’s about to leave the clothes, Bruce finds Tony, and he looks near tears, so Tony reaches forward, taking one of his hands.  “Hey,” he says, squeezing his hand until Bruce looks at him, “It’s okay.  It’s not a big store, he’s around here somewhere, don’t freak out.”  He doesn’t know where the words come from, he just knows only one of them can panic right now.

 

Bruce nods, though he’s holding his breath, and he holds Tony’s gaze for a few seconds before shaking his head and letting his breath out.  “We lost him,” he says, his voice shaking, “We lost _our son_.”

 

“Bruce,” Tony says, lifting his hand to kiss it, “Calm down.  C’mon, go look again, and, if we can’t find him, we’ll go up front or something.”

 

Bruce nods, leaving Tony with the carriage, and Bruce is about to give up hope a few minutes later and retreat to the front when he hears quiet crying, and he goes down an aisle and around a corner and nearly falls over.  “Peter,” he gasps, running forward and dropping to a knee, pulling Peter against him.

 

“Daddy,” he sobs, clinging to him, “I got losted.  I thought—I thought you were behind me, but then I was in the toys, and you weren’t there, and—” he breaks off, sobbing into Bruce’s chest, and Bruce starts to stand when he notices both of Peter’s hands are curled into his shirt.

 

“Peter, where’s Ollie?”

 

“I lefted him in the toys on accident, and then I couldn’t find him either!” he cries, his voice muffled.

 

“It’s okay, we’ll find him.  Come on.”  He stands, digging out his phone as he walks toward the toy section.  His heart is still thudding painfully in his chest, and he just wants to sit down and hold Peter and never let him go.

 

“Did you find him?” Tony asks when he picks up, and there’s a broken kind of hysteria in his voice.

 

“Yeah, I’ve got him.  He left Ollie in the toys.”

 

“I’ll be right over,” Tony says before hanging up, and Bruce drops his phone back in his pocket and winds his arm around Peter.

 

“I’m so sorry, Peter,” he mumbles, kissing his mop of hair, “It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

 

“I didn’t think you were ever going to finded me,” he says, his voice breaking off in a hiccup, and Bruce just shifts him closer, rubbing his back.  When they finally get to the toys, Tony has Ollie, and Peter’s sobs have drifted off into quiet sniffles.  He reaches for Ollie with one hand, his other curled under his nose, thumb in his mouth, and he holds Ollie against him, head against Bruce’s shoulder.

 

“Peter,” Tony sighs, running a hand through his hair, “Are you okay?”

 

“I was scared,” he mumbles around his thumb, looking out at Tony.

 

“I’m sorry, baby.”

 

“It’s okay,” he says, and then he’s yawning, settling heavier against Bruce.

 

They forgo clothes shopping for the day, check out, and then head for the market, where Peter is still awake but fading fast.  They’ve only been in there for ten minutes before he starts nodding off, and Tony takes him from the carriage, curling both arms around him so he can rest against his torso, head on his shoulder.  He’s out in seconds, and he stays that way, dead weight in Tony’s arms, for the remainder of their shopping.  They get a handful of comments on how adorable he is, and Bruce is back to smiling by the time they get to their cashier.  He doesn’t wake when Tony gets him into his car seat, doesn’t even move, and Tony laughs softly, straightening from the car.  “Is there a blanket back there?” he asks, looking over at Bruce, who bends down to look, coming up successful with a blue one.  He tosses it over, Tony tucks Peter in a little, and then he goes to help Bruce, loading the trunk until they’re off again, heading home.

 

Tony takes Peter up to put him to bed for his nap before going back down to help Bruce with the bags, and then, when all that’s said and done, him and Bruce go into the mostly empty storage room and look around.  “What do you think?” Bruce asks after a couple minutes.

 

“Yeah,” Tony says slowly, thinking, “Let’s clear it out, and then I’ll work out a blueprint with Jarvis.  I could probably have it up and running in a week, and then we’ll just have to get tanks and such.”

 

“Awesome.  Maybe we should surprise him,” Bruce says as they head out of the storage room.

 

Tony loops his arms around Bruce’s waist, leaning down to mouth up his neck.  “Maybe,” he murmurs, “But he’s got a half hour left of his nap, and you are definitely still too tense from earlier.”  Bruce just shakes his head at him, turning to kiss him before he opens their door.


End file.
